Sunday, September 11, 2011

Sean Remembers 9/11

September
11, 2001 – a day that will live in infamy.

Everyone,
including myself, remembers 9/11 as being a beautiful day. The only reason we
remember this fact is the aftermath of the events that unfolded. Even the clear
blue skies and perfect temperatures the rest of that day were darkened and
disturbed by the horrible realization of what happened. What happened? Freedom
was attacked, and in many cases taken.

I,
like everyone, remember the events of that day vividly. I was a freshman in
high school, and we were in 2nd period (gym class for me) outside
walking around the track. I was walking with a friend, Mike Randall, when we
were told the towers were both hit. Like everyone when they heard of the second
tower being hit, the immediate realization was that we were under attack. We
were pulled back into the school and brought into the locker room. I remember
seeing Football Coach Perry watching the news on his television for my first
view of the events.

I
remember talking with a bunch of people in the hallway outside of the locker
rooms, and I remember one girl having absolutely no clue what the Twin Towers
were.

While
sitting there waiting for the bell for the next class, the report came in that
the Pentagon was attacked, and for us, the concern was now even more real. The
attacks on the Towers showed us that American civilians were at risk. The
attack on the Pentagon hit the military, it hit our defenses. For all we knew,
it had crippled us and soon every plane we had would be nose-diving.

We
had heard [false] reports of carbombs exploding all around Washington, D.C. so
the worry and fear became amplified immediately as we tried to figure out what
our own personal futures held for us.

In
the United States, and the bulk of the world, this kind of foreign terrorism
was unheard of… we were blindly comfortable in our ways, and feeling
invincible. For most, Pearl Harbor was far too long of a way in the past, and
we weren’t dealing with a military (per se) attack in this situation.

Schools
ended up being released after we sat in class and watched the Towers collapse. As
I started to walk home, there were fighter jets flying overhead accompanying
what few planes were left in the air. My father showed up to pick me up and
give me a ride home where I sat on the couch and stared helplessly at all of
the views of the tower being hit and both collapsing. Watching the Pentagon
burn away and fall in on itself, and watching the footage from the unbelievable
hole in the ground in Shanksville, PA.

The
following days were full of those blue skies which weren’t quite blue enough. I
still remember vividly the day they returned the planes to other airports,
moving them in bundles… it was the first time we’d seen aircraft in the sky for
days, and even knowing they were moving them back, it was hard to get over the
feeling that it was possible for those planes to be used for evil.

The
following years, security changed, the War on Terror started, and lives have
changed. There have been attacks in Spain and London, planned attacks all over.

We
lost 3,120 lives as a result of the attacks on 9/11. Since that day, many have
died from effects of that day. Many were left paralyzed and confined to a
chair. Many were immortalized for their efforts to save, and others for their
ability to survive and ride the towers down. Every soul affected that day, whether
in the crashes, at the scenes, of relation, other sites which could be targets,
surrounding areas, and the entire US which had to watch helplessly, we pray for
you.

I
pray for the soldiers of the coalition fighting the War on Terror… whatever
nationality you may be. I pray for those attacked after 9/11. God bless those
who fought back on Flight 93 and prevented another attack on a building or
people. God bless the firefighters and police who selflessly risked their lives
to save and comfort others. God bless the people who weren’t firefighters or
police, regular citizens, who risked their own lives attempting to save others.
God bless those who made it out, or fought to make it out and couldn’t. God
bless those who were trapped in the Towers and couldn’t find an escape. God
bless those who jumped to their death from the towers. God bless everyone lost
in the War on Terror. God bless Freedom, and everyone who fights for it. God
bless the enemy of our enemies.

If
you’d like, leave a comment and let us know where you were when you found out.